Friday, 8 September 2023

Why Can't We Be Friends: My 34th blog of the year 2023

Well, the latest on the Rugby Championship competition as the results of the 2nd round of the competition are in:

New Zealand 35 - 20 South Africa (It was the All Blacks (Who had lost captain Sam Cane who suffered a neck injury & took no further part in the test when he was replaced at halftime by Dalton Papali'i but is likely to be ruled out for the 1st Bledisloe Cup test of the year as well as the Rugby Championship decider against Australia, in which New Zealand has never won a Southern Hemisphere rugby title in a World Cup year since 2007 which was during the Tri Nations era (It went to Australia in both 2011 & 2015 followed by the South Africans in 2019 where they became the only side to claim a rare double which is both the Rugby Championship & the Rugby World Cup in the same year) night with a complete masterclass in the 1st half as they downed the Springboks at Mount Smart Stadium in Auckland but there is one standout player above them all of Shannon Frizell who had a wonderful performance as he charged a Springbok defender of Willie le Roux before scoring a decisive but match defining try during the test in which he is an apparent heir of the late Jonah Lomu (In which the headline will obviously sum up by saying: JONAH WHO? AB'S STUN SOUTH AFRICANS IN EPIC TRC TEST, not only it obviously being about the unlikely heroic performance of Frizell (And is he Jerome Kaino's successor? Yeah definitely) who had a monster of a game in that outstanding test for which I was stoked about the result)

& Australia 31 - 34 Argentina (And yes that game was by far the biggest boilover in this years Rugby Championship as the Argy Bargies of Argentina who tore the Wallabies & stunned them to bits to claim the unlikely upset of the southern hemisphere tournament at Commbank Stadium in Sydney (And what has steady Eddie got to do going into the 1st Bledisloe Cup test of the year is to improve their consistency in order to get better of a chance of toppling the AB's (But this is like in a situation back in 2019 where New Zealand missed out on claiming southern hemisphere's most treasured prize after defeat against them in Perth which was overshadowed by the red card of one of the All Blacks lock forwards for a dangerous foul play incident, therefore handing the South Africans the championship after a bonus point win over Argentina in Mendoza)

And here are the confirmed matches being played in the final round of this years Rugby Championship tournament:

Australia Vs New Zealand (Their most recent meeting in international rugby between both sides was last year where the All Blacks would gone on to win the test against the Wallabies at the garden of Eden at Eden Park in Auckland but the last time Australia tasted victory against New Zealand in international rugby, it was in 2020 in the 4th Bledisloe Cup test in Brisbane where an All Black & a Wallaby got sent off for dangerous foul play respectively but a late yellow card by one of the AB's players cost them a chance of winning the test)

& South Africa Vs Argentina (The last time both of these sides met in international rugby was in the final round of the Rugby Championship where South Africa (Who missed out both on a chance of winning the Rugby Championship & failing to get an attacking bonus point because it went to none other than the All Blacks) came away with a win against the Argy Bargies of Argentina at Kings Park in Durban, but it's been 5 years since the Argentinians had last beaten the Boks, & it was in Mendoza on that fateful day back in 2018)

And in tennis related news such as unseeded female Czech player Marketa Vondrousova (Who has moved her into the top 10 following her successful Wimbeldon glory) has ended Tunisian Ons Jabeur's quest of a maiden grand slam at Wimbeldon therefore claiming the ladies singles title, but the biggest headline has gone to a young 20 year old world number 1 men's player from Spain of Carlos Alcaraz claming his 2nd grand slam, his maiden Wimbeldon gentlemen's singles title as he dispatched defending champion Novak Djokovic in an intense 5 set thriller in the final (And it was payback for Alcaraz (Who redeemed himself as he triumphed in Wimbeldon as he remains the top male tennis player in the world) after losing to him during the semifinal of the French Open but there were no cramps that time on his way to success at Wimbeldon) which was the greatest in tennis history (And it would have to be one of my standouts throughout the tennis side of it) because no one wanted like most people, that the gentlemen's singles final is expected to be both incredible & slick (In which I labelled the General Electric album from 1999 by Shihad (Still one of by far, my favourite New Zealand rock bands) that I've now got from the Vinyl Room here in town that I purchased (And Pops did get me the Lenny Kravitz greatest hits album since Kravitz (Who is an American of Bahamian origin) is one of my favourite solo rock singers but I also like Duran Duran as my favourite 80's new wave band & of course Black Sabbath is in fact, my favourite 70's heavy metal band) is my new number 1 favourite rock album, therefore taking over from Killjoy not only because its better than the 1995 Shihad album being released) according to rave reviews of a special advanced screening of the new Gran Turismo movie (In which was widely regarded as the greatest video game movie adaptation ever that I'm going to see in August, but I didn't see the movie last month after I thought that I was going to that movie & I chose not to on that occasion) as well as the greatest but classic tennis contests of all time.

And back onto the rugby as the All Blacks XV end their successful Japan tour after their famous win against Japan in Kumamoto then the world champion Black Ferns had done it again to retain the Pacific Four series title after their wins against Canada & the United States (Who New Zealand beat them after trailing despite being played with 14 players when halfback Iritana Hohaia had been ejected for dangerous play (And there was foul play involved (And also that there was a degree of danger & there was no mitigating factor) so the referee I believe, have made the right decision to go for the red card & had no choice but to send Hohaia off the field in which I was gutted) & is likely to face a 3 week ban for her actions caused by it, but it was the Black Ferns (Led by the best name in women's rugby of Maiakawanakaulani 'Maia' Roos (Compared to the best motor racing name in the world of twice defending Indycar Series champion & former Indy 500 winning driver of Australian Will Power) who became the youngest ever Black Ferns skipper for that match against the United States) bench that made the difference during the 2nd half which contributed to our victory in the womens test) respectively in Ottawa in which I was also stoked.

And the Black Caps (Who'll be without all-rounder Michael Bracewell through a serious Achilles injury sustained during a domestic cricket game in England as he joins Kane Williamson as part of the injured players list which still haunts us but now I don't think we going to win the men's Cricket World Cup not only because it's impossible with both Bracewell & Williamson out) first match of the men's Cricket World Cup this year will be against the defending champions England on the 5th of October in Ahmedabad (Compared to the All Blacks opening match of this years Rugby World Cup against hosts France on the 8th of September at the Stade de France, a fortnight after the AB's play our last test before the RWC, against the reigning champs South Africa at Twickenham in a pre-World Cup friendly) in a replay of the dramatic final in 2019 at Lord's in London, won by England as a result of the boundary count back regulation which cost New Zealand dear (But it's been 8 years since the Black Caps last beat England at a men's Cricket World Cup in which Tim Southee picked up 7 wickets which resulted in an 8 wicket win in Wellington), then hosts India begin their campaign against 5 time champions Australia (The defending world test champions who'll be seeking payback against the Indians after losing to them in 2019 at the Oval in London, England with their last win for the Aussies against the Indians at a men's CWC came in 2015 in a semifinal in Sydney) over in Chennai but here are the key fixtures such as the match between the Aussies & South Africa will take place on the 13th of October in Lucknow hoping for a change of fortunes as a dramatic meeting in the last edition ended in the Proteas’ favour (And Australia's last win at a men's CWC against South Africa was in the semifinal in 2007), while the much-anticipated India-Pakistan clash is scheduled for Sunday October 15 in Ahmedabad (Which is going to be held under a heightened security presence, but the Pakistanis have hired a sports psychologist as well as a security delegation system to protect/safeguard the team who are gunning for their elusive 1st win against the Indians at a tournament). Their last encounter in the 2019 World Cup was a high-scoring affair with India (Who have never been beaten before against the Pakistanis at a men's Cricket World Cup) achieving a huge victory in Manchester. Then Pakistan (Who have never beaten the Aussies since 2011 in which the Pakistanis had snapped the Australians 34 game winning run at a men's CWC) will face Australia in Bengaluru on October 20, while England clash against South Africa (Whose last win against the English at a men's CWC was in 1999 thanks to a glittering performance from Allan Donald when he picked up 4 for 17 during the match) the next day in Mumbai before India (Who had never beaten the Black Caps at a men's Cricket World Cup since 2003) will go up against New Zealand (Who'll face Trans Tasman rivals Australia on the 28th of October in Dharamsala in which New Zealand have never won against the Aussies since that fateful Eden Park encounter back in 2015) to try and avenge their 2019 semi-final defeat on October 22 at the picturesque Dharamsala venue and Australia face their arch-rivals England on November 4 in Ahmedabad. The defending champions had thrashed the Aussies (Who had last beaten England at a men's Cricket World Cup in 2019 at Lord's in London before facing them again & they were on the losing side against the hosts at the time as well as eventual champions in the semi) to storm into the final four years ago, then India will be waiting for England on October 29 in Lucknow, who defeated them in the semi-final of the 2022 T20 World Cup just last year (Their most recent meeting between the 2 countries at a men's Cricket World Cup where the English dominated the match, but the last time the Indians beat England during the tournament was in 2003 which was exactly 20 years ago) & the final group stage match will be England up against Pakistan (The last time Pakistan had lost a men's Cricket World Cup match against England was in 2003 where during the match when Shoaib 'The Rawalpindi express' Akhtar bowled the fastest delivery in the world of cricket as he clocked up a whopping 161.3 km/h) in Kolkata on November 12, but the The first semi-final will be held on Wednesday November 15 in Mumbai and the second semi-final will be held the following day in Kolkata. Both semi-finals will have a reserve day, as the Final will take place at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on November 19 with November 20 slated as the reserve day, when all three knock-out fixtures will be day-night affairs, with the matches beginning at 14:00 local time.

And finally I remember that the Shihad song of Comfort Me came out in 2002 when they released under the name Pacifier (In which they were known way back in the aftermath of the band had decided to change their name due to backlash surrounding the September 11th tragedy in 2001 when they were touring in the United States (Which was run by the Bush administration under the leadership of the US president George W Bush) in which the band sounded too similar to jihad (Which is the Arabic word for holy war) according to the story that I remember from my Moroccan Jewish mate Leon in July), well that was when the WWF (World Wrestling Federation) also changed their name to the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) to avoid confusion with the World Widlife Fund, where it marked the end of the Attitude era (Which featured it's main stars such as The Rock, Triple H, Kane & Stone Cold Steve Austin (The star wrestler who dominated from that level during the Attitude era (Which had taken over from the New Generation era which featured big names such as the likes of Shawn Michaels, Bret 'The Hitman' Hart, the Undertaker & Diesel, & it lasted for 5 years ranging from 1992 until 1997) which lasted from 1997, & welcomed the Ruthless Aggression era where it had emerging & rising stars such as John Cena (The current movie star who was the main star attraction in which he excelled during that era), Batista, Brock Lesnar & Randy Orton that came out on top & lasted until 2008 where the PG Era was introduced & then in Formula One that there was 3 litre V10 engines (They originally used 3.5 litre V10's which lasted from 1989 until 1994 then the introduction of those 3 litre V10s which lasted from 1995 until 2006) being used dubbed as the Schumi era (Which lasted from 1989 (Same year that the Golden era had taken place (They used to have those screaming 3.5 liter V12 engines around) & lasted until 1995) until 2006) inspired by Michael Schumacher's dominance in F1 where he won 7 world championships (Twice with Benetton & 5 times with Ferrari), took place in that year, but 20 years later, the 1.6 litre V6 turbo hybrid era, AKA the silent era, has since taken over by storm when the sport had decided to go green in 2014, & has been there since (Sir Lewis 'LH' Hamilton dominated in that era where he won 6 world championships with Mercedes (To add to his title that he won in 2008 with McLaren which was during the modern era where that had 2.4 litre V8 powered engines around which lasted from 2006 until 2013), then it was German Nico Rosberg who did it in 2016 before retiring from the sport altogether, & now Dutchman Max Verstappen had dominated the last 2 years in Formula One with Red Bull (It was in 2021 that Verstappen brought Hamilton's bid for a record breaking 8th world championship to cement Hamilton's status as a GOAT to a halt in the title decider in Abu Dhabi, AKA Lewis Vs Max: Decider in the Desert, where he emerged as a new star being born in the making where he won the race as well as his 1st of his 2 world championships & being the 1st Dutch driver to do so to win the world championship (Same year that Alex Palou who became Spain's historic first ever Indycar champion, 16 years after Palou's childhood hero of Fernando Alonso who had became the 1st & only Spaniard to win the F1 crown) in which he labelled as the new master).

So that is my 510th blog of the year 2023 (MMXXIII) & my 34th of this year, viva Ukraine.

P.S. And I have revealed that 20 years ago that I was into toy cars when I was young during my period as a kid & as especially a teen before converting myself to a gamer since I got older as Pops told me during the month of July (And I have 7 favourite PS5/PS4 games on my PS5 console, ranging from Gran Turismo 7 (PS5), F1 23 (PS5), Assetto Corsa Competizione (PS5), Soulcalibur VI (PS4), WWE 2K23 (PS4), FIFA 23 (PS4) & Rugby Challenge 4 (PS4), but I have 3 favourite Xbox games that I play on my Xbox Series X console ranging from Forza Motorsport 7 (Xbox One), the 2005 version of Star Wars Battlefront II (Xbox) & Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown (Xbox 360).

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